PROCLAMATION OF THE HEAVENLY FRIEND
Before talking to us about the work of that heavenly Friend, particularly with the rejected and despised categories of men, He talks to us here about the nature of this Friend, proclaiming it through His forerunner “John the Baptist”; and through the testimony of heaven itself (the Baptism).
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1- The appearance of John the Baptist |
1 - 6 |
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2- An exhortation to repentance |
7 - 14 |
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3- John’s testimony concerning Christ |
15 - 20 |
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4- The baptism of the Lord by John the Baptist |
21 - 22 |
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5- The genealogy of the Lord Christ
1- THE APPEARANCE OF JOHN THE BAPTIST: |
23 – 27 |
Owing to the importance of the role played by John the Baptist, which made men of the Old Covenant prophesy him; the Evangelist Luke talks to us about the date of his appearance as a fact that actually happened; his work, its impact; and his testimony to the Lord Christ.
As to the date of his appearance, he says: “Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar; Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea; Herod being a tetrarch of Galilee; his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis; and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene; While Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the Word of God came to John the son of Zecharias in the wilderness” (1, 2)
In giving the good news of conceiving him, the Divine Inspiration fixed its date by stating the name of the king of Judea, where the episode took place (1: 5); but at the beginning of his appearance, it stated the name of the Roman Emperor, the Roman governor, three rulers, each of whom was a tetrarch (For Judea was divided into four sections), and the names of two high priests …………
Among all those civil and religious rulers, no one was found worthy of the Word of God to come upon him, except for John the Baptist who was raised in the wilderness.
Mentioning all those names was probably to show the extent of humiliation reached by Israel. For it was not only governed by the Roman Emperor, but the kingdom of Israel was divided into four sections ruled by Roman kings; and even the high priests were appointed by the Roman governor. That bitter humiliation was one of the signs of the coming of Christ; for it is written: “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes” (Genesis 49: 10).
In the midst of such a dark atmosphere, John the Baptist appeared to prepare the way for the Lord Christ; as according to St.
Ambrose: [The voice appeared to prepare the way for the Word]. Commenting on the words of the Evangelist Luke: “The Word of God came to John the son of Zecharias in the wilderness” St. Ambrose says: [The Word of God, namely the Lord Christ has been secretly working in John while being in the wilderness, before working in His church that was like a barren wilderness, before He planted in it holy trees, He brought forth from among the peoples;..... she was barren, then came to have children (Isaiah 54: 1).
We can say that while the Roman were in control of everything in Judea, even concerning the religious issues (the Roman governor fired the high priest Annans and appointed Caiaphas in his place); God, on the other hand was planning for them what is greater; not to destroy the Roman kingdom, and to raise up the kingdom of Israel from a temporal humiliation, but He was, in a secret way, preparing John in the midst of the wilderness, to pave the way for Israel and for the Romans as well to receive fellowship in the Holy Body of Christ; to bind them together in the One Head on an exalted level, for the sake of the limitless eternity.
Life may happen to become pitch dark before your face, and you may think that evil has prevailed and destroyed the believers; but, in every era, God works in the midst of the barren wilderness, to turn it into a holy paradise, that embraces trees from every nation, people, and tongue.
Concerning the region of John’s work and its nature, he says: “He went to all the region around the Jordan, preaching a
baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” (3) The essence of his mission was ‘Baptism’, bound to repentance. By his Baptism, John came to prepare the way for the Baptism by the Lord Christ, not only for the remission of sins, but for the enjoyment of the spirit of sonhood to God, and the dwelling of the Holy Spirit in us, to let us enjoy friendship with the Lord on the level of the true unity and the fellowship of His glories.
That work of John the Baptist was not fulfilled haphazardly, but came as a part of God’s salvation plan; which was seen by the prophets from afar, who spoke of, ”As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying: ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His path straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight, and the rough ways smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God” (4-6).
- If the Lord Christ is “the Word of God”, John is just the “voice” that prepares the way for “the Word”. If the Lord Christ is “the Truth” itself, John is a “voice of one crying in the wilderness” to receive the Truth through “the ways” or the “straight paths”. He is calling the despaired souls, which arelike the low valleys that will be filled with hope, and the haughty souls like a mountain or a hill brought low...................... By that all will enjoy
By “the valleys” he probably also means the nations, destroyed by paganism, that made them lose every hope in the Lord. And by “the mountains and the hills, he means “the peoples of Israel and Judah”, that became haughty and arrogant. The call is addressed to all “all flesh shall see the salvation of God”.
- John’s voice called for practical penitence and behavior “the crooked places shall be made straight, and the rough was smooth”. It was a call toforsake every crooked way, for no one will see salvation while remaining in his evil ways and in his crooked
- The word “flesh” here, came in the Greek origin as “body”. According to St. Augustine: [The Holy Book used to call the human nature as “everybody”], and [He does not mean a body without soul or mind, but by saying “everybody” he means “every man”].
- John’s call is still active in every soul; for our depths shall not see the salvation of God, unless we hear the voice of John inside us, filling our contrite hearts with hope, destroying every haughtiness and pride; turning our inner feelings away from the crooked ways; and making our deep rough ways smooth!
- As the gospel according to Luke was addressed to the Greeks in particular, he quoted here the words of the prophet Isaiah that open the gates of hope before all the Gentiles, saying: “all flesh shall see the salvation of God”,
Commenting on this, St. Cyril the Great says:
[All flesh saw the salvation of God the Father, for He sent His Son a Redeemer and a Savior; not to a specific people in particular; not only the children of Israel. The expression “all flesh” means peoples of the entire world; for the mercy of the Savior is without limits; He redeemed all nations, and His light came upon all those who live in the darkness. That is what the psalmist meant by saying: “All nations whom You have made, shall come and worship before You, O Lord” (Psalm 86: 9); while, at the same time, the remnant of the people of Israel will be saved, according to the words of Moses, saying: “Rejoice, O Gentiles with His people” Deuteronomy 32: 43)].
- AN EXHORTATION TO REPENTANCE:
“Then he said the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him: ‘Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore, bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves: ‘We have Abraham as our father’; for I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones’. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruits is cut down and thrown into the fire’” (7 – 9).
In this text the following is noticed:
- Coming out in such great number for baptism, did not bring joy to the heart of John the Baptist, nor he counted it as success of his ministry;for it should have been bound to practical repentance according to true In Christianity, as well, Baptism is bound to practical faith; When a child is presented for Baptism, his god-father or god-mother (in most cases the parents), pledge to raise the child in the practical and true faith.
In the essays written by St. Cyril the Great to the Catechumen, he said: [Did you enter because the guard let you in……Are you not aware of the wedding garment to partake of the banquet?!.................................................................................................................................... Now, get out, and come again
tomorrow when you are more prepared]................... Yes indeed, all are invited without discrimination, and the voice of the
apostles cries out loud to gather all; but the Groom Himself will search those who seek to enter with Him in a symbolic matrimonial relationship. Oh! How I wish no one of those whose names were registered, would hear His words, saying: “Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?” (Matthew 22: 12).
- He called them “brood of vipers”, saying: “”Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” (7)
He took this analogy from the habitat where he was raised, the wilderness in which the vipers abound.
He probably refers here to their Love of doing harm to others; for the viper is poisonous and deadly to man.
+ By these words he refers to the popular view that the Jews, known for their evil hearts like poison, loved the crooked paths and hidden pits of vipers, instead of the knowledge of the secrets of God. Yet, the words: “Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come” refer to themercy of God that granted them a chance to repent their sins; By that he tried to tell them ahead, with complete faithfulness, about the horrible judgment to come.
By “brood of vipers”, John means the Jews as a race and not as individuals; who are described as being as “wise as serpents” (Matthew 10: 16). they were granted the natural wisdom, but used it for their own benefit, not thinking about forsaking their sins.
(St. Ambrose)
+ He properly called them “brood of vipers”; for it is said that those kind of people are “murderers of fathers, and murderers of mothers” (1 Timothy 1: 9); and slayers of their teachers by their own hands.
(St. John Chrysostom)
- He asks them not to trust only in being descendants of Abraham, saying: “Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’” (8); For it is befitting of them to bear the sonhood to Abraham through practical work as true children, following his lead in faith and behavior; “For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones” (8). God actually so did, and will keep on doing, for in the old covenant, he brought forth from
Sarah’s barren, stone-like womb, Isaac and his uncountable descendants, children to Abraham.
+ He warned them against boasting their noble race; for birth does not give any privilege, unless justified by the inheritance of faith.
+ God was and still is ready to soften the hardness of our hearts, to turn the stones into a faithful people.
(St. Ambrose)
+ What will be the use of ancestry, if the children do not walk on the path of honor and nobility like their ancestors?!; Hence the Savior says: “If you are Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham” (John 8: 39).. God intends for such a relationship to be based upon ethics and works; for it would be worthless to boast of the holy and good ancestors when you cannot reach their example of goodness and virtue………….
+ John probably calls those nations ‘stones’, for, on account of not knowing Christ as God, they worshipped the creation and not theCreator. But Christ ultimately called them, they responded to His call, and became
children to Abraham, and, by their faith in Jesus Christ, they confessed His Divinity.
(St. Cyril the Great)
+ Saying that “God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones”, he refers here, as well, to the Gentiles, being like stones because of the hardness of their hearts, about whom He proclaimed on the tongue of His prophet Ezekiel: “I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 11: 19). For the “stone” is a symbol of hardness, while “flesh” is a symbol ofcompassion.
(St. Jerome)
- Now, using the way of threatening punishment, he says:
“And even now, the ax is laid to the root of the trees; Therefore, every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (9)
+ Let us liken the fruitful trees; …….Let our apparent virtues be supported by the hidden roots of persistent humility; Let us rise above the earthly behavior, and bear at the top the fruitful works of repentance; lest
the ax would come to cut off the wild branch (the fruitless); For “Woe is me if I do not preach” (1 Corinthians 9: 17); So said the apostle; but I personally say; [Woe is me if I do not weep on my sins;........................................................................................................................ Woe is me if I, at
midnight, do not rise to give thanks to you, because of Your righteous judgments” (Psalm 119: 62);............... Woe
is me if I falsely testify against my neighbor;............. Woe is me If I do not utter the truth].
“The ax is laid to the root of the tree”; I wish it grows and produce the fruit of repentance and thanksgiving. Behold, the Lord is coming to gather the fruits and to grant life;........................................................................................................................ He discovered the tree that did not give
fruit for the last three years (Luke 13: 7). He found no fruition of the Jews;............... I wish He will find fruition in
us; for He intends to cut off the fruitless trees, which use up the ground in vain
Let those without fruition, strive to have fruition in the future, for the good keeper of the land interceded for us, fruitless and worthless, to give us another chance. And God suffers long on us, hoping that we may eventually produce some fruition.
(St. Ambrose)
+ The ax refers to the indignation and wrath of God on the Jews, because of their great crime and oppression against Christ; about which the prophet Zechariah says: “In that day there will be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Magiddo” (Zechariah 12: 11); And the prophet Jeremiah says to Jerusalem: “The Lord, who called your name ‘Green Olive Tree’, lovely and of good fruit, with the noise of a great tumult, He has kindled fire on it, and its branches are broken” (Jeremiah 11:16)… You may, as well, add to this the parable of the fruitless fig tree in the holy gospels, which the
Lord allowed for its roots to dry up.
Notice how St. John the Baptist did not say that the ax was laid to the ‘stem’ of the tree, but to its ‘root’; by which it is evident that, even though the branches withered and fell down, yet God did not cut the tree from its roots, because there were a few remnant of the people of Israel who, having repented to God, were saved, and did not eternally perish.
(St. Cyril the Great)
According to St. Jerome: [What is this ax laid to the root of the tree to cut it off and throw into the fire, but, the two-edged sword, “the Word of God” that cuts off everything fruitless in us; strong, active, and able to destroy in us everything barren, to set in us instead, by the precious blood, living fruition.
- Having threatened to cut off the fruitless tree from its root, and to throw it into the fire, John the Baptist showed that the fruition is (the practical love) or (the mercy);
“So the people asked him, saying: ‘What shall we do then?’. He answered and said to them: ‘He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise” (10, 11).
He was also asked the same question by tax- collectors and soldiers; to whom his response concentrated in mercy, and practical love; counseling the tax-collectors not to forsake their jobs, but not to abuse them by collecting more taxes to their own account; and counseled the soldiers not to forsake their jobs, but not to abuse them by oppressing people, not to testify falsely against anyone, but work faithfully, and only seek their wages.
+ John the Baptist gave one and the same answer, yet as befitting to every particular situation.
Mercy is a general virtue; and the main principle according to which everything should be done by men of every professions and age; including tax-collectors and soldiers, and even farmhands; rich and poor. All are called to give those who have none; for mercy is the mother of all virtues.
(St. Ambrose)
- JOHN’S TESTIMONY CONCERNING CHRIST:
The Jews were a strange kind of people; While rejecting the Lord Christ, and not being able to accept Him a Savior and a Redeemer, we see them think of John that he is “the Christ”; for according to the gospel:
“Now, as the people were in expectation,, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he is the Christ or not ….”
(15);
The reason for this is what they saw in John of intense asceticism in his food, drink, and attire, and of his very strong rebuke to the sinners, which led them to think that such a person could be the one to save them from the Romans, if he has the proper leading role.
How strange is man; who often rejects the exalted love of God, despises His longsuffering, and is drawn to the creature rather than to the Creator! ……… But, in his faithfulness, refusing to rob the glory of Christ, and strongly rejecting the exaggerated and unbefitting honor given to him; John the Baptist testified to the true Christ; and proclaimed that there is no way to compare between the Lord Christ and him; between the baptism of the Lord and his baptism;
“John answered, saying to all, ‘I indeed baptize you with water, but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire” (16, 17).
According to St. John Chrysostom: [That is what expected of the faithful servant; not only to refuse to refer the honor of His Master to himself, but to hate it when it is given to him by many].
And according to the scholar Origen: [Even though he was worthy of admiration and love of everyone. And his life was unique and different from anyone else; yet they have gone beyond the reasonable limit in their admiration, to wonder whether he was the anticipated Christ ………… For fear that such kind of out-of-place, non-spiritual love, the apostle Paul said: “…….But I refrain, lest anyone should think of me above what he sees me to be or hears from me. And lest I should be exalted above measure by the
abundance of revelations ………” (2 Corinthians 12: 6, 7)................. I, myself (St. John Chrysostom), suffer from such exaggeration
in our church; for the majority love me more than I deserve, and commend my talks and teachings; even though some, on the contrary, criticize my sermons, and refer to me certain views that are not mine…............................................................................................................................... Those who exaggerate in loving me, and
those who do in hating me, do not keep the law of the truth;............ Hence, we should set proper measures for our sentiments, and
not let them carry us along here and there.............. As it came in the book of Ecclesiastes: “Do not be overly righteous, nor be overly
wise; Why should you destroy yourself?” (Ecclesiastes 6: 16)…........... You should not love someone, or even some angel, with all
your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; but follow the words of the Lord, and keep His teaching: “To love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul; with all your strength, and with all your mind” (Luke 10: 27)].
According to St. Ambrose [By such a comparison, John did not mean to prove that Christ is greater than him; for there is no point in doing such a comparison between the Son of God and any man….................................................................................................................. Not intending to compare himself to Christ, John said: “His
sandal straps, I am not worthy to loose”;.............. Saying: “He must increase, and I must decrease” (John 3: 30), was a prophecy that
the Jewish people had to (decrease), so that the Christian people (increase)].
According to St. Cyril the Great: [People were so amazed to see such a super-natural example in the simple life of John the Baptist, the greatness of his ethics, and the exaltation of his godliness and goodness, to think that he must be Christ, to whom the law with all its symbols referred, and many prophets and apostles described. But John, hastening to scatter their thoughts with the utmost firmness, proclaimed that he is no more than a servant of his Master; and that the glory, honor, and worship are only befitting to be given to Christ, whose name is above all names.
Knowing that Christ is faithful for all who serve Him, John had to proclaim the truth, that the difference is extreme between him as a servant and Christ as the Lord; he said: “You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before Him” (John 3: 28). John was indeed great in his message, and in his testimony; superb in its splendor like the
morning star that directly precedes the sun rise from beyond the horizon.
To prove to the multitudes that he is far below his Lord in level and prestige, John said to them: “I indeed baptize you with water, but One mightier than I iscoming, whose sandal straps I am not worthy to loose”(Luke 3: 16)........................................................................................................................ For, if the heavenly hosts, the
thrones, and the holy Seraphim stand around the divine throne of Christ, to give Him glory and praise, Who, among the inhabitants of the earth cam dare to approach Him?!. Yes, indeed, God loves man, has compassion and mercy toward him; but we, being ignorant human beings, should never deny that we are nothing compared to Him].
According to St. John Chrysostom: [God is so exalted above me that I am not worthy to be counted as the least of his servants, who loose His sandals, which is the meanest of tasks].
Providing us with a symbolic interpretation of the words uttered by St. John the Baptist; St. Gregory the Great sees in the sandals of the Lord a reference to the body with which He is clothed ; and in loosing its straps, a reference to loosing the secrets of the incarnation; feeling that he, himself, is unable to perceive and search that divine secret
While St. Jerome provides us with another interpretation, that John the Baptist does not dare to stretch his hand to loose the straps of the sandals of His Lord,on account of that the Lord intends to take His widowed bride, and would never rejecther..................................................................................................................................... In the
law it came that the closest relative of the widow who refuses to take her as his wife to set from her children for the dead; will have to take off his sandals before the city elders, and give them to whoever accept to marry her, as it happened in the episode of Ruth (Ruth 4: 7, 8). But our Christ will not take off his sandals to give to anyone; for He intends to acquire us as His bride, and to purchase us by His love and given blood.
Finding no point of comparison between him and his Lord; nor between his baptism and that of the Lord, St. John the Baptist said: “I indeed baptize you withwater,… But He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (16).
+ Water purifies the body, but the Spirit purifies the heart from sins. We do the first task, and pray for the second to be consummated, when the Spirit blows on the water to sanctify it. Water alone is not enough to purify, even though the two (Water and Spirit) do not separate; that is why the baptism of repentance which includes only one element, done by John differed from the baptism of grace that includes the two elements together, as was done by the Lord Christ............. If both
the body and the spirit are partners in sin, purification would be imperative for both of them.
(St.. Ambrose)
+ Baptism is the great furnace full of fire, in which men are refined to be immortal.
(St. Jacob El-Serougi)
+ As it came in the book of Acts, the Spirit is fire, having dwelt upon the believers in the form of tongues of fire; fulfilling the words uttered by thesavior, saying: “I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it is already kindled” (Luke 12: 49).
There is another interpretation, which is that we are now baptized with the Spirit, then, in the great day of the Lord, according to the apostle, “Each one’s work …… will be revealed by fire; the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is”(1 Corinthians 3: 13).
(St. Jerome)
+ To further prove his weakness and ignorance, John says again: “I indeed baptize you with water;................ But He will
baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (16); a great proof of the Divinity of Christ; for it is within His power to grant men the Holy Spirit, so that whoever receives Him will enjoy the divine nature................................................................................................................... But you should notice that this power in
Jesus Christ is His, not given to Him by anyone; as it is said: “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit”............... As the
incarnate Word is the Fruit of the Father; therefore no one should protest that He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit is God the Word, and not that who came from the seed of David; ……. For those who divide Christ into two, according to the Holy Book, are: “sensual persons who cause divisions, not having the Spirit” (Jude: 19):”.
Here, we must firmly and strongly confirm that God the Word, grants the Holy Spirit, who is His, to whoever is worthy of this great Gift. When God the Word incarnated, He granted us the Holy Spirit; for He is the only begotten Son of
God, He and the Father are One in a way unperceivable by the human mind. John the Baptist says: “I am not worthy to loose the straps of Hissandals”; then adds: “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire”............................................................................................................................ It is , obvious here, that
there are two feet to put on sandals; and no one with reason can assume that Christ, before His incarnation wore sandals; that only happened afterHis incarnation. Yet Christ, by His incarnation, did not cease to be God, He could do works
befitting of His Divinity, like granting the Holy Spirit to all those who believed in Him; on account of that He, at the same time was God and Man.
(St. Cyril the Great)
Proclaiming the Baptism of the Savior, the Evangelist talked of Him as a Judge, saying:
“His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire” (17)
+ The reference to the “winnowing fan” of the Lord Christ reveals His authority to discern the work of each of us. When the wheat is winnowed, theempty are separated from the full; the fruitful from the fruitless, by a breath ofair............................................................................................................................ In the day
of judgment, the Lord will discern between the works fruitful with virtues, and those empty of them; and will call the perfect to the heavenlyhome Hating the chaff and despising the barren works, “a fire goes before Him” (Psalm 97: 3); a
fire of a certain kind that consumes the works of the darkness, and intensifies the shine of the works of the light]
(St. Ambrose)
+ I wish to reveal the reason why our Lord holds the winnow fan in His hand; and concerning the breath of air that causes the chaff to fly away here and there; while the heavier wheat grains remain in their place
The “air” I believe, refers to some temptations that reveal whether the believers are chaff or wheat. For, whenever some temptations dwell on your soul, it is not the temptation itself that makes chaff or wheat out of you; but it will reveal your hidden nature; if you are light chaff without faith. On the contrary, if you confront the temptation with courage, the temptation will (reveal) the virtue of perseverance and power hidden in you.
+ When a tempest blows it will not be able to shake the building built on the rock; but will reveal the weakness of that built on the sand.
(The scholar Origen)
+ The way John likens the inhabitants on the earth to wheat on a threshing floor, was a fact shown by our Lord Christ addressing His holydisciples, when he said to them: “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray
the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Luke 10: 2). ……You will find out that we, the inhabitants on the earth are likened to heads of wheat and to a harvest, a harvest on which the God of all reigns. But meditate in the words uttered by John the Baptist, describing the threshing floor as belonging to Christ, who cleans it up, gathers the wheat to His barn, and throws the chaff into the unquenchablefire.................................... The wheat symbolize the good men who
held fast to their faith and their dogma; whereas the chaff symbolize the weak in mind and sick in heart, who will be scattered by the wind of temptations No wonder, that the wheat is then gathered to His barn, for it is worthy of being
kept in a place secured by God’s care, and mercy; while the chaff is to be consumed by an unquenchable fire, for they are worth nothing.
(St. Cyril the great)
+ The presence of chaff will not harm the wheat of the Lord; who although, comparatively few , yet they however are a multitude.
(St. Augustine)
The Evangelist Luke concentrated on the main work of John the Baptist, which is his testimony to the Lord Christ, to His salvation work, and to His baptism with the Holy Spirit. This testimony, although, they came with some words of
rebuke for repentance, yet they also gave the spirit of hope, preaching the mercy of God; saying: “And with many other exhortations he preached to the people” (18)
John’s preaching and sermons were not only addressed to the commons, but extended to the rulers with no reservation nor compliments.
“But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his brother Philips wife, and for all the evils which Herod has done, also added this, that he shut John up in prison” (19, 20)
We have previously referred to how Herod, by putting in prison, intended to shut up the breath of the truth, and to shackle the Word and the commandment by chains and sword; but the voice of truth got higher through tribulation. And we also referred to how that became a symbol of the attempt of the Jews to shackle the prophetic word (the prophet John), to keep him from proclaiming the Messiah.
- THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD BY JOHN THE BAPTIST:
“When the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him; and a voice came from heaven which said: ‘You are My beloved Son; in You I am pleased” (21, 22).
The following are some comments by the father on the baptism of the Lord:
+ The Lord came to be baptized, completely without sin; but not without the Holy Spirit. And about His servant and forerunner John, it waswritten that he was filled by the Holy Spirit while still a fetus in his mother’s womb (Luke 1: 15);
……… If John, who was born by human seed from his father, received the Holy Spirit while being conformed in the womb, how about the Lord Christ Himself, who was conceived, not by the physical way, but by the Holy Spirit?!
(St. Augustine)
+ The Holy Spirit did not come upon the multitude of Jews, but only upon Jesus……. If you, O Jew, want to receive the Holy Spirit, believe in Jesus, in whom the Holy Spirit dwells.
(St. Jerome)
+ Christ is born; and the Spirit was His forerunner; He is baptized; and the Spirit testifies to Him; He is tempted; and the Spirit leads Him (4: I, 18)
He performs miracles; and the Spirit accompanies them. He ascends to heaven; and the Holy Spirit replaces him!
(St. Gregory the Nezianzen)
+ The Lord was baptized, not to be purified by the water ……. For He who knew no sin, has the authority to purify; by which whoever is buried in the font of Christ, in it he will leave his sins.
+ By saying to John: “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3: 15), the Lord, Himself, explained the reason of His baptism… Among His multitude of His mercies, is building the Church; After the
fathers and the prophets, the only begotten Son of God descended to earth, and came to be baptized.............. Here, the
divine fact mentioned, concerning the Church, clearly shows itself, which is: “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; andunless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain” (Psalm 127: 1)…................................................................................................................... I shall
even dare to say that man cannot walk along a way, unless the Lord leads him; according to what is written: “You shall walk after the Lord yourGod and fear Him” (Deuteronomy 13: 4); and: “God leads the steps of man”(Wisdom).............................................................................................................................. Now,
by saying: “Permit it to be so now, to fulfill all righteousness”, the Church is created
+ Christ, having washed Himself for our sake; or He rather washed us in His body; It is therefore befitting of us to hasten to wash up our sins.
+ Alone He was buried, yet He raised us all; Alone He descended, to lift us up all;
Alone He carried the sins of the whole world, to purify all in His Person. According to the apostle: “Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts” (James 4: 8); Christ who needs no purification purified Himself for our sake.
(St. Ambrose)
+ Was Christ in need of being baptized? What benefit came upon him by practicing this statute? Christ, the Word of God, The Holy from Holy, as described in the praises said by the Seraphim (Isaiah 6: 3); and as described by the law in more than one location; by which all the prophets conform with Moses.
And what would be our benefit from having the holy baptism? ………No doubt to cleanse our sins.................... But Christ
had none of these, about whom it was said: “Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth” (1 Peter b2: 22). Who, being Holy with no evil nor defilement, was “separated from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens” (Hebrews 7: 26).
But someone of weak faith may ask: [Was “God the Word” baptized? And was Christ in need of the gift of the Holy Spirit? No, nothing of the sort! ……..Christ was baptized to teach us that Jesus of the seed of David, united with God the Son, was baptized and received the Holy Spirit. Why would you divide the indivisible into two sons, and say that when
He was baptized in His thirty years of age, he became holy?!
Was Christ not holy until He reached thirty years of his age?!............. Who will consent with such a claim with which you
clothe the truth with vanity?!........... As “There is One Lord: Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 5: 6), we openly and loudly declare
that He did not separate from His Spirit when He was baptized; Even though the Holy Spirit, proceeds from the Father, yet He also belongs to theSon, for: “Of His fullness we have all received” (John 1: 16);.............................................................................................................................. And the Holy Spirit was
often called “the Spirit of Christ”, , even though He proceeds from God the Father, according to the words of the apostle
Paul: “Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out: Abba Father” (Galatians 4: 6).
Therefore, even though the Holy Spirit proceeds from God the Father, yet Christ the Word, the only begotten true Son of God, who partakes of the greatness and authority with the Father, sends the Holy Spirit to the creation, and grants them
to all, who are worthy of Having Him, saying: “All the things that the Father has are Mine; Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you” (John 16- 15/.
God the Word, our firstborn in everything, and our model in all things, having emptied Himself by His humility, and taken up our image and likeness in order to teach us the value of baptism, and what it implies of grace and power, He Himself was baptized, and when He was baptized He prayed, to teach us, beloved brethren, that prayer is always necessary for whoever was worthy of the grace of the holy baptism.
The Evangelist John describes heaven as being opened, as though it was before closed; “Christ said: ….. You shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man” (John 1: 51); For the hosts of angels in heaven, and men on earth, being all shadowed by one banner, and all submitting to One Shepherd – the Lord Christ, heaven opened, man was joined by the angels; and the Holy Spirit descended, proclaiming that there is now a new creation. He first dwelt upon the Lord Christ who received Him, not for His own sake, but for our sake, we humans; for we by and in Him, get grace upon grace.
You see that Christ for His love of our salvation and redemption, endured having our image, which implies being emptied of His divine nature! …….How could He empty Himself, unless He accepts to endure the human nature?!
Now, as we take Christ as our Role Model, let us therefore, approach the grace of the holy baptism; by which we dare to pray fervently, raising holy hands to God the Father, to open for us the windows of heaven.
(St. Cyril the Great)
+ They seemed to our understanding as separate; but they actually are inseparable Trinity.
(St. Augustine)
+ Let us now contemplate in the secret of the Trinitarian. While we say that God is One; yet we confess the Father and the Son …….He who proclaimed: “I am not alone, for the Father is with Me” (John 16:32) ….. together with the Holy Spirit The Holy Trinity will never separate.
(St. Ambrose)
- THE GENEALOGY OF THE LORD CHRIST:
In our study of the gospel according to Matthew (the First Chapter) we compared between the genealogy of the Lord Christ, as it came in the gospel according to Matthew, with what came in the gospel according to Luke. We shall, therefore, give here only a summary of that comparison plus showing some other aspects:
- Matthew, as a Jew writing to His Jewish brethren, cared to show the Lord Christ as being “The Son of David”, the anticipated King Messiah, and the son of Abraham, by whom the divine promises and covenants were fulfilled. Luke on the other hand, writing to the Gentiles, cared to show Him as the Father of all
- We said that, while presenting the genealogy to us before the events of Nativity took place, when the Word of God emptied Himself by incarnation, Matthew gave it (going down) from Abraham to Joseph betrothed to Mary; While in the gospel according to Luke, in which the genealogy came after the Baptism of the Lord, by which He raised us up to the sonhood to God, the Evangelist gave the genealogy (going up) from Joseph to Adam (the son of God).
According to the scholar Origen: [While Matthew started the genealogy from Abraham to reach the point of saying: “Now the birth of Jesus was as follows” , on account of that he cares and rejoices in Him who came to the world ……… Luke, on the other hand, going up, and not down, with the genealogy, as he speaking about the Baptism of the Lord, he raises us up to God Himself].
And according to St. Ambrose: [Luke, not bringing forth the genealogy until after the divine Baptism, intending to show that, by Baptism, God is the Father of us all; confirming that Christ, according to His genealogy, came from God (the Father), a Son to the Father by nature, grace, and flesh (having come as a descendant of Adam the son of God). confirms the divine sonhood by the testimony of the Father, Himself, saying: “You are My beloved Son; in You, I am well pleased” (22)].
For the same reason we find that the Evangelist Matthew, repeating the word “begot”; saying for example: “Abraham
begot Isaac”, while the Evangelist Luke repeats the words “the son of”, in every case …… While the former proclaims that
sin came down to us through the human births; and that the Lord who is without sin carries the sins of all the generations. Luke, on the other hand raises us up to reach the “sonhood to God”.
- The differences in the names mentioned in the two gospels could be explained by that one of the evangelists used the natural genealogy according to the flesh, while the other used it according to the law. As it was the case when someone dies childless, his widow is given in marriage to her closest relative, and the first child is referred to the dead according to the law; and is, therefore, referred to two fathers: one of whom is his father according to nature, and the other according to the law
According to St. Ambrose, the Evangelist Matthew presented the genealogy on Solomon’s side, whereas Luke presented it on that of Nathan. The former intended to confirm the Lord’s royalty; while the later, intended to confirm His priesthood; for He is A King by the kings, and a Priest by the priests; Yet His royalty is divine, and His priesthood is exalted. ……….
The ox became the symbol of the Evangelist Luke, for speaking much about priesthood.
- According to the scholar Origen, Matthew included in his genealogy, the names of certain sinful and Gentiles women; on account of that the Lord Christ, having come to carry our sins, would not shy away from being referred to anyone. Whereas Luke, having mentioned the genealogy after baptism, refrained from including the names of sinful women, with the intention of raising all above the level of
We spoke before about how God intends for (men and women) to be “men”, not (sex-wise), but spiritually and mature, without the softness of women or the weakness of children.
- According to the Evangelist Luke, saying: “Jesus began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (as it was supposed) the son of Joseph, the son of Heli” (23), brings our memory back to Joseph the son of Jacob, who, when he reached the same age (30 years) (Genesis 12: 2), was released from prison, and became the second in command to Pharaoh, and his deputy over the storehouses of wheat, to distribute it during the seven years of famine;.................................. The
Lord Christ, having the keys of the storehouses of the spiritual wheat, namely, the words of the law and the writings of the prophets, flows upon His hungry disciples to satisfy them spiritually by the new wheat free of the old yeast.